


Fate Has A Sense of Humour

by wanderingghost



Series: I Dreamt of The Sea [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-19
Updated: 2014-08-19
Packaged: 2018-02-13 20:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2164626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderingghost/pseuds/wanderingghost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Love was still an alien word to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He had always held some pride for his title within the tower. The dashing mage who could charm his way into anyone’s bed and the resident escape artist. There were only two obstacles to this. Firstly, the Templars had his damn phylactery so he never stayed escaped for too long. Second, the most beautiful woman in the entire tower was a hopeless tease. He liked to tell her this whenever he possibly could.  
  
Solona was a few years younger than him but she matured quickly. He supposed it was his fault for lavishing so much attention on the girl but she soon started to use her looks to her advantage. It was rather funny when she batted her eyelashes at Senior Enchanters and Templars alike, and they melted like putty before her. She must be the reincarnation of some Desire demon. It was common knowledge that she was an incorrigible flirt (he had experienced it himself many times to know this was true) and it was not unusual to see her kissing boys in dark corners (he also had been one of them). But for all his debonair charms, she refused to… be more intimate. And it drove him quite mad sometimes.  
  
In the beginning, he sought her for her beauty and to claim her as he did so many others. It was a challenge worth pursuing, he thought, with nothing else better to do trapped within these walls. After a few failed attempts, he found himself seeking her nonetheless. She was witty, smart and absolutely hilarious. She knew how to have a bit of fun, and she was the most sublime kisser he had ever had.  
  
They had found a secret place together, next to the kitchens. There was a small opening in the wall that you had to crawl through in order to reach a small completely empty room. It was just a pocket in the tower that nobody knew about. It became their sanctuary. He had spirited things inside, pillows and blankets and food. They would spend the night there sometimes. Solona had a habit of falling asleep in the library and sometimes people forgot to rouse her before curfew. She would have to sneak back to the apprentice’s quarters or sneak into this room.  
  
He was usually there most nights (when he wasn’t busy running away from the Templars) because his neighbour slept like bronto despite being surrounded by stone walls. It was one of those nights when he found her crawling through the little opening into the room. She grinned when she saw him.  
  
“Fancy seeing you here,” she said.  
  
“Oh, look what the cat dragged in,” he replied, smirking. “Fell asleep in the library again?”  
  
“Yes,” she sighed. “And Cullen isn’t on duty tonight so I can’t sneak back to the dorms.”  
  
“You do know that you’re having an affair with a _Templar_ , right?” he raised an eyebrow.  
  
“Oh, you can hardly call it an affair,” she waved. “I just… thank him… unconventionally, for the kindness he has shown me.”  
  
“Riiiiight,” he shook his head. “Thanking him with long passionate kisses in dark corners. What will his colleagues think?”  
  
She shrugged. “The forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest.”  
  
“I’ll say,” he waggled his eyebrows. “So… has _your_ forbidden fruit been… tasted?”  
  
Solona rolled her eyes. “Anders, how many times have I told you-“  
  
“Awh, still?” his voice was laced with disappointment.  
  
“I _want_ it to be special… with… with someone special,” she said.  
  
“I’m not special enough?” he pouted.  
  
She laughed. “Anders, really.”  
  
There was a pause as she heaved a sigh.  
  
“Call me a romantic or whatever… but I want to wait for the right person,” she told him. “I want to be sure, that when I look into his eyes, I think _yes, this is the man I would give up my life for_.”  
  
“That is disgustingly sweet and you know it,” he wrinkled his nose.  
  
“Have _you_ ever felt that way for anyone?” she arched her eyebrow pointedly.  
  
“Well, can’t say I have, to be perfectly honest,” he shrugged.  
  
“Mark my words, Anders,” she grinned slyly. “When that woman walks into your life, you’re going to do exactly what I’m doing right now. You’ll probably be a whole lot worse.”  
  
“What if I told you you’re not just anyone to me?” he cupped her chin and turned her face to his. “What if I told you… you were the one?”  
  
She looked at him with her wide brown eyes, lips slightly parted in surprise. She really was beautiful though. He leaned forwards to kiss her softly, tongue brushing against her lips for entry. She opened her mouth and deepened the kiss. He could hear her inhale sharply and her hand was on the back of his neck. He ran his fingers through her dark hair, untying the band that held it in a bun. Thick, luxurious curls fell across her back. They were both panting with desire, breaths intermingling. He pushed her against the wall and his hand reached for her breast. She broke the kiss and pulled his hand away.  
  
“No, Anders…” she said softly.  
  
He looked at her with dark eyes. He wanted her but he knew if he forced the issue, he would probably never see her again so he backed away, sighing. He respected and enjoyed her company too much to let that happen.  
  
“You’re such a tease,” he mumbled unhappily.  
  
She chuckled. “I know.”  
  
They laid down side by side on the blankets as he played with her hair. He wondered if he really did… _love_ her. But the word seemed alien to him.  
  
“Have you ever seen the sea?” she asked him.  
  
“The sea?” he repeated in surprise. “I have… when I managed to get to Amaranthine. The Templars were waiting for me though, they figured I would take a ship.”  
  
“What is it like?”  
  
“It’s just a huge body of water that extends for miles,” he shrugged. “Nothing really special about it.”  
  
“I’ve always wanted to see the sea,” she said wistfully. “I remember my mother telling me about how she met my father by the sea. That’s the only thing I remembered about them.”  
  
“Is that all? If you met someone by the sea, you’d marry them?” he raised an eyebrow.  
  
She laughed at how ridiculous it sounded.  
  
“No, but a girl can dream, right?” she sighed. “I bet I’d end up marrying a man I met trying to slaughter a dragon or something.”  
  
“You’ve been reading too many stories again.”  
  
“I heard that there’s a war happening to the south,” she looked at him with a small frown. “People are saying that there’s another Blight coming.”  
  
“Another Blight?” he looked away in thought. “If that’s true, then they’ll be recruiting mages.”  
  
Her eyes danced as she said it. “Maybe I’ll volunteer and then I’d really meet a man slaying a vicious dragon.”  
  
“You’re still an apprentice, silly, you can’t volunteer.”  
  
“I’m going to take my Harrowing soon!” she objected. “A few of the mages have been talking about volunteering as well.”  
  
“That’s something to think about,” he grinned.  
  
“You probably wouldn’t be allowed, since you’ll just use the opportunity to escape again,” she rolled her eyes.  
  
“Ah, am I really that easy to read?”  
  
They chatted for a few more hours before eventually falling asleep. Two weeks later, he heard that she had completed her Harrowing. He remembered when his own Harrowing, and the memories of Fade demon still haunted his dreams on occasion. It was an unnerving experience. He was about to find her when he saw Jowan running for his life. He was bleeding profusely all over the floor and Anders quickly figured what had happened. There was only one way of escaping the tower and that was through the front doors. Jowan hurled the Templars that were guarding it out of the way with his blood. He had never actually seen blood magic at work, and it was chilling to behold. Especially from a boy he had known most of his life to be a quiet, albeit troubled, non-threatening person. The doors were thrown wide open and he made a run for it into the night. Anders was rooted in his spot at what he had just seen. But instinct had always driven him and he went after Jowan through the doors. He only hoped that Solona would be alright on her own.


	2. Chapter 2

Amaranthine was colder than the south, mostly because it was near the sea and it rained… a lot. He had expected to see them again, waiting for him by the docks. But he had to go there. He had heard the Warden-Commander would be arriving in Amaranthine. He had heard the Warden-Commander was a young mage who had defeated the archdemon. He had heard a young mage had been recruited into the Wardens after he escaped the tower that night. He had heard that this young mage was Solona Amell.  
  
It only made sense that she would come to the city to see the sea.  
  
His timing, however, had always been impeccable. The Templars caught him and drained his mana. They marched south back to Kinloch Hold. The younger man, whatever his name was, thought it would be a grand idea to stop by Vigil’s Keep for a while. Restock on supplies, have a nice meal and a good night’s rest. Oh, little did they know.  
  
He was not entirely heartbroken when the darkspawn cut them down. Luckily they hadn’t tied his hands up so he was able to unleash a blast of fire on the remaining monsters that were coming at his neck. The smell of burning darkspawn flesh completely put off his appetite. He shook his hands from the remnant of heat from his spell, turning around to the door. He blinked a few times when he saw two women standing there instead, staring at him. His eyes focused on the one in front and a slow grin spread across his face.  
  
“Oh, fancy seeing you here,” he greeted her.  
  
“What…” she stared at him in shock, mouth hanging open.  
  
“Commander?” the shorter woman asked. “Do you know this man?”  
  
“I…”  
  
“I am Anders, beautiful lady,” he gave a sweeping bow. “And sadly, a wanted apostate. I know what they’re saying about me but I didn’t kill them! Not that I was broken up about it… Biff there made the funniest gurgling when he went down.”  
  
“That’s not funny, Anders,” Solona finally broke out of her trance and frowned at him disapprovingly.  
  
She had changed. A lot. She was no longer the sly minx that he knew back from the Circle. She was a grown woman with a mountain of responsibilities on her shoulders. And it certainly showed on her demeanor. Her eyes were harder, colder, and lacked the twinkle they once had. There was a thin scar on her left temple and she was a lot thinner than he remembered.  
  
“An apostate? In Vigil’s Keep?” the other woman questioned. “Is it wise to trust him, Commander?”  
  
It was strange to hear her being called Commander. The Solona he knew would laugh and throw a witty self-deprecating remark at that. Who was this woman standing in front of him now?  
  
“We don’t have time to discuss this,” Solona dismissed the issue authoritatively. “The Keep is still overrun by darkspawn.”  
  
“Awh, look at you, all grown up now,” Anders smirked.  
  
She looked back at him, trying to decide what to do. He made the decision for her and they ran along, killing more blighted darkspawn and rescuing helpless servants. Then they came across a red headed dwarf who was swinging an axe that was almost as tall as he was at more darkspawn. He turned his head around to glance back at them and broke out into a grin, waving at Solona, who looked like she was ready to have a heart attack. She quickly casted an ice spell on the ascending darkspawn, and then shattering them with a stonefist. She unsheathed her sword and started hacking away again. He joined in on the fray, casting spells left and right. When it was over, Solona jumped up the steps towards the dwarf.  
  
“Oghren!” she called. “What in Andraste’s name are you doing here?”  
  
“Ehehe,” the dwarf laughed. “Thought I’d become a Warden, just like you!”  
  
“A- Oghren, you know there are risks to this,” she told him.  
  
“Pah! I piss on risk!”  
  
“I’m sure risk would appreciate that,” Anders quipped from behind her.  
  
“He was here before I left, I can’t believe the other Wardens haven’t kicked him out,” Mhairi wrinkled her nose disapprovingly.  
  
“Hey! If it isn’t the one with the great rack! Who’s the mage? Ehehe, boyfriend?” Oghren crossed his arms, smirking slyly.  
  
Solona groaned and buried her face in her hand.  
  
“We still have a Keep to purge, let’s get back on track, please?” she urged.  
  
It was strange to see her so mature. He was incredibly curious as to what had caused this enormous change in her character. They managed to clear the Keep of remaining darkspawn, even bumping into a _talking_ Darkspawn that just threw everybody off. The Seneschal spied a group of soldiers marching up their way from the ramparts. They went down to meet the entourage, only to find that it was the King himself. Solona strode forward confidently, greeting him with a wide smile.  
  
“King Alistair!” Mhairi whispered reverently next to him.  
  
“It looks like I arrived late,” Alistair said. “That’s _too bad_ , I rather missed all the killing darkspawn stuff.”  
  
“I’m sure you do,” Solona smirked as she stood back up. “I do miss having to save you from running head first into a horde of hurlocks.”  
  
Alistair chuckled. “It’s only because I knew you’d save me that I run head first in the first place! Joking aside, you weren’t hurt, were you, love?”  
  
“Oh, you know me,” she shrugged. “It’ll take more than a few pesky darkspawn to hurt me.”  
  
“I don’t doubt that,” he laughed. “I'm sorry for the current state of the Keep, seems like you have _quite_ the task ahed of you. I'd love to help, but you're on your own for now. ”  
  
“Hey! What am I? Chopped nug livers?” Oghren protested.  
  
“Going from the smell, I’d say that was a good guess,” Anders commented automatically. He was still astonished at what transpired between Solona and the King. Did he just call her _his love_?  
  
“I came here to join the Grey Wardens and it looks like you need all the help you can get,” the dwarf said gruffly. “Now where’s the giant cup? I’ll gargle and spit!”  
  
“You’re not allowed to spit,” Solona looked at him slyly.  
  
“Heh… that’s what I always say.”  
  
Solona shook her head with a smile on her face. It seemed that without the threat of impending danger looming above their heads, she was back to her old usual self again. He liked her better this way, way less bossy and much easier to like.  
  
“Your Majesty, beware!” one of the Templars escorting the King stepped forward. “This man is a wanted criminal!”  
  
He had almost forgotten about that.  
  
“Oh, the dwarf is a bit of an arse, but I wouldn’t go _that-_ “  
  
“She means me,” Anders sighed, hanging his head.  
  
“This man is an apostate that we were in the process of returning to the Circle to face justice,” the Templar continued.  
  
“Oh, please, the things you people know about justice could fit into a thimble," he gestured with his hand. "I'll just escape again anyhow!"  
  
He was aware of Solona’s eyes fixed on him.  
  
“Never, I will see you hanged for this, murderer!”  
  
“Murder-“ he started in outrage then stopped. “Oh, what’s the use, you wouldn’t believe me anyway.”  
  
“It seems there isn’t much to say,” Alistair commented. “Unless… you have something to add, Commander?”  
  
“Anders is no murderer,” Solona slid her eyes back to the King. “He helped us clear the Keep of darkspawn. _Actually_ , I think I’d like to conscript him as a Grey Warden.”  
  
All those who knew her recognised the glint in her eyes as she looked towards the Templar who was fairly certain to develop an aneurysm any moment now.  
  
“What?! Never!”  
  
“I believe the Grey Wardens are still allowed the Right of Conscription, no?” Alistair said, trying to suppress a smile. “I will allow it.”  
  
“If… if Your Majesty thinks it is best…” the Templar lowered her head in defeat and walked away.  
  
Solona had a look of triumph on her face.

“Ha! Way to go, kid! Welcome aboard!” Oghren laughed and clapped his back.  
  
“Me? A Grey Warden?” he couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “I suppose that’ll work!”  
  
“Congratulations, ser mage, I look forward to fighting at your side,” Mhairi offered.  
  
The Seneschal proceeded to give a brief introduction of himself and reported the status of the Keep. Solona frowned when he mentioned that the Orlesian Wardens were missing. He really had no idea what was going on but the atmosphere did seem pretty dire.  
  
“Missing Wardens? Talking darkspawn? This just keeps getting better and better,” Solona crossed her arms and pressed her hand against her lips.  
  
“Seems like you have your work cut out for you,” Alistair told her. “I hate to ask you to do this, love. It would have been… _so_ much more interesting to keep you at court…”  
  
“Oh? Why don’t you then?” she looked up at him, the frown smoothing away into an impish smile.  
  
“Such a temptress,” the King shook his head, chuckling softly. “Sadly, I have to deal with the trouble at the Bannorn.”  
  
“Ugh, the Bannorn, you’d think Teagan would have been able to deal with that lot but they remain as stubborn as ever,” she tsked impatiently.  
  
“Now, now,” Alistair said. “I promise I’ll return as soon as I’m able. You’ll have to deal with the vestiges of the Blight… but I’m confident you’re more than capable for it.”  
  
“When you come back, I’ll have kicked the vestiges back to its hole and this Keep will be shining in golden pearls,” she told him.  
  
He laughed. “Now that I  _have_ to see!”  
  
“Oh, don’t tempt me.”  
  
“Oh, I really don’t,” he smiled softly. “Now, let me say a quick goodbye before I change my mind, sweet love.”  
  
He took a step closer to her and they exchanged looks. He leaned forwards and gave her a kiss on the cheek. A shy little smile spread across her lips and her eyelids fluttered briefly. She touched his arm before he turned around and marched back down the road. She continued to watch him as they left, smiling back as he turned his head around to give one last wave.  
  
“So…” Anders intoned, breaking her trance and causing the goofy smile to slip from her face and be replaced by an embarrassed blush. “Was he slaying a dragon when you first met him?”  
  
“You haven’t seen the worst of it,” Oghren huffed.  
  
She turned around to face them with a dead serious look that grew into an ominous smile.  
  
“I can’t  _wait_ for the Joining, can you?” she asked excitedly. “Maybe I’ll do it right now. Yes, I think I will.”  
  
“I am ready, Commander,” Mhairi nodded, always the eager soldier.  
  
“Wait, aren’t you going to tell us something about it first?” Anders asked.  
  
“Where’s the fun in that?” she raised her brows. “I can’t anyway, it’s all a  _big_ secret. You’ll just have to find out.”  
  
He didn’t really like the look in her eyes as she said it.


	3. Chapter 3

The Joining was worse than the Harrowing, he had a headache for days after passing out. He wished someone had the good sense to catch them as they fell. Then again, with Solona, she probably thought it was funny. He found her, unsurprisingly, in the library. He supposed some things just never change. It had become something of her office by now and there were stacks of vellum, scrolls, documents and various assorted books strewn around the entire place. And it was a rather big place. He half expected to see her fast asleep on the table when he walked in after dinner but she was reclined on the sofa in front of the fire reading a book. Solona looked up at him with a tired smile.  
  
“Look what the cat dragged in,” she said.  
  
“Oh, fancy seeing you here,” he replied.  
  
It was familiar and comfortable. He plopped himself down on the sofa next to her and she rearranged her legs to give him more space. He propped his feet up on a stool in front of them.  
  
“So Warden-Commander, huh?” he grinned at her. “And the King’s mistress to boot!”  
  
“Maker, I hate being called that… but I suppose there’s no other word for it,” she huffed.  
  
“Concubine?” Anders offered.  
  
“Oh, _thanks_.”  
  
Wynne’s words came back to haunt her regarding that topic numerous times. You can never take the Circle out of the mage. She had been so naïve to consider otherwise back then.  
  
“So _did_ he slay a dragon when you met him?”  
  
She laughed, remembering the conversation they had in the tower fondly. It felt like a different lifetime.  
  
“No, but he did slay an ogre the next day,” she said. “Then he slayed a dragon a few months later. So I thought, hey! Close enough!”  
  
“Well, I’m glad it worked out for you in the end,” he smiled. “I always thought you were the sort of person who would get their happy ending.”  
  
“I don’t think my story has ended, there's still time for tragedy to loom it's ugly head,” she frowned quickly.  
  
"Ever the optimist you are," he commented.  
  
“There’s been more troubling reports that need attending to," she glanced down at her scroll. "I was hoping you would come with me.”  
  
“Hey, I’m not one to shy away from some fun!”  
  
“I was counting on that,” she said. “There have been more reports on these… talking darkspawn and it’s really concerning me. Darkspawn are not sentient beings, they shouldn’t have the ability of free will. And yet here they are. Usually I wouldn’t condone stripping a creature of its free will but the darkspawn are malicious. If they’re being made sentient, then what does that mean? They were able to strategically take over the Keep and Maker only knows what else they have in store for us.”  
  
He was silent for a moment as he watched her. That hard look in her eyes came back again, and she looked every bit the Commander of the Grey Wardens at that moment. It was not hard to believe that she rightfully held claim to the title, and that it was not just happy chance she was appointed the position.  
  
“You’ve changed,” he commented, causing her to look at him in confusion.  
  
“What?”  
  
“You’re not the Solona I once knew back at the tower,” he explained. “I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.”  
  
“Things have been… complicated,” she sighed. “And hard. And sometimes downright annoying. I think most of my patience has been spent in the past year.”  
  
“Tell me about it?”  
  
She stared off into the distance for a couple seconds. He could tell that she was unearthing memories that she rather would have kept buried.  
  
“When Duncan recruited me into the Wardens…" she started. "Well, you’ve gone through the Joining. Mhairi died. Darkspawn blood is essentially poison to us. I was the only one who made through _my_ Joining. Then Loghain betrayed us, left us for dead at Ostagar. Duncan died with the King… we… never recovered his body. I owed Duncan my life after what Jowan did. I was sure the Knight Commander would have executed me or worse…”  
  
She paused to take in a shaky breath. She had been much, much luckier than Lily. Even now, she still wonders what had happened to her.  
  
"It was just up to Alistair and me to unite an army against the Blight. And… the nightmares started…”  
  
“I’ve heard about these nightmares,” he said. “I haven’t really had any.”  
  
“You didn’t join during a Blight, it’s usually worse,” she glanced at him. “But some Wardens can’t sleep for the rest of their lives. Maybe some are just more sensitive. Anyway, when Arl Eamon wanted to make Alistair the King… I thought I was going to lose him. We fought about it for a long while… But Maker, I couldn’t allow Anora to rule.”  
  
“Why not? She seems like a competent ruler,” Anders frowned.  
  
“She… she’s just like her father,” she said harshly. “I could never forgive what Loghain did to us. We trusted him. I… He kept saying that he did it all to protect Ferelden. Anora said it too, and that sealed the deal for me. And after that, we found out that we had to end the archdemon ourselves. I was prepared to die that night.”  
  
“Wait, what? Are you saying… the Grey Warden who kills the archdemon… is supposed to die? How are you still alive then?”  
  
“I had this friend… she was a Witch from the Korcari Wilds,” she bit her thumb nervously. “She performed a ritual that would save us.”  
  
“Oh. So…”  
  
“It was just that one time,” she shook her head. “Unless she decides to pop up again for the next Blight. Maker only knows what she’s even doing right now…”  
  
“Seems like you had quite the adventure,” he said.  
  
She shook her head. “I can’t decide whether I would do it all again or hurl myself off a cliff.”  
  
“Well, I guess it explains how you’ve changed in just a year.”  
  
“You haven’t changed at all though,” she looked at him. “Still the same old Anders. I’m glad the Templars haven’t decided to get rid of you when I found you.”  
  
“That’d be such a shame, wouldn’t?” he smirked.  
  
“It would…” her face fell and she stood up from the sofa, walking towards the window. “I don’t suppose you’ve been back to Kinloch Hold?”  
  
“I heard what happened…” he mirrored her expression.  
  
“It was terrifying…” she closed her eyes painfully. “I… There were so… _Slaughtered_ and forced to become abominations. Maker… I don’t blame Cullen for-“  
  
She stopped herself abruptly but he had heard her.  
  
“What happened to Cullen?” he asked softly.  
  
“He was the only Templar who managed to survive the ordeal,” she answered. “When he looked at me… I wished I could have been there to stop it. Or-“  
  
He waited for her to compose herself.  
  
“I still care about him,” she said plainly. “He was a sweet man, he didn’t deserve what Uldred did to him. I saw the hate in his eyes when there was once love. It broke my heart… Anyway, I killed Uldred and left the tower. I heard they sent Cullen away to Greenfell or wherever until he levels out.”  
  
“Hey, come back here,” he beckoned to her. She walked back to the sofa and allowed him to wrap his arms around her and stroke her hair.  
  
“Tell me about Alistair?”  
  
She smiled easily at the thought of him.  
  
“He’s too good for me, I think,” she laughed. “When I first met him, I thought he was absolutely ridiculous! You could never get a straight answer out of him and he uses humour to avoid answers all the time!”  
  
“Kind of sounds like someone I know…” he looked at her accusingly.  
  
“It’s no surprise then that we instantly bonded,” she told him. “At first I thought of him as a brother, a fellow Grey Warden, both of us tasked with an impossible mission. I don’t know how we did it, really, I had no idea what I was doing half the time. It seemed to turn out alright though…”  
  
“You’re the Hero of Ferelden, I guess that’s good enough, right?” he shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, don’t forget Warden-Commander, Arlessa of Amaranthine and Champion of Redcliffe! Thought I didn’t hear about _that_ one, did you? I think the King is pretty lucky to have _you_.”  
  
“That’s what he tells me all the time too,” she wrinkled her nose. “But I know sweet talk when I hear it. I’m the master seductress here, I will not yield easily.”  
  
He had no doubt about that. Still, he felt happy for her. He cared about her and she had been a great friend. Even if their relationship hadn’t strictly been platonic. She had a life, purpose. He wasn’t sure if he could say the same about himself, and for that, he slightly envied her. She had come so far on her own. The woman he held in his arms was not the soft, innocent little thing anymore. She was a hardened veteran, her body was scarred, her hands calloused. Her hair was shorter than he remembered, even if she still held it in that same bun. He wanted more than ever than to kiss away the frown on her brows and bring back that spark he used to love in her eyes.  
  
But love was still an alien word to him and she belonged to another man.  
  
“Did you ever get the chance to see the sea?” he asked.  
  
“No… I can’t believe you remember that,” she smiled.  
  
He decided that the next time they were in Amaranthine, she would see this sea she had always dreamt about. The result was not what he had been expecting though. Although, to be fair, throwing off her armour and dancing around the docks never seemed like a pretty realistic expectation. They had brought along Oghren and Nathaniel, a thief that had originally been plotting to kill her. Apparently, she had killed his father at some point on her mad quest to destroy the archdemon. The both of them got on surprisingly well with one another despite that. Solona had took one look at the sea, gasped in delight and ran towards the low wall, leaning over it to look down at the dark waters. It then quickly turned sad and she stared, lost in thought, for a very long time. Oghren belched.  
  
"Hey, stop daydreaming already and let's go kill some stuff," he yelled at her.  
  
"What?" she broke out of her daze and turned back. "Oh, right, sorry."  
  
She pushed herself off the wall then paused. She looked around and grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and then tossed it into the sea.  
  
"That should do it," she nodded. "In war, victory. In peace, vigilance. In death, sacrifice."  
  
"What was all that about?" Nathaniel raised an eyebrow.  
  
"The essence of the Grey Wardens," she said. "I've just always wanted to do that for a long time. Right, anyway, let's move on, shall we?"  
  
Anders gave her a look, which she returned. He understood that it was her own way of a final send off to the Wardens in Ostagar. She admitted to him previously that in moments of doubt, she would always ask herself "What would Duncan do?" She only knew him for that one week they had spent travelling south to Ostagar, but she learned a lot from him. And now that she had assumed his rank, she had missed him that much more. He would remember the words of the motto sometimes, in the darkness, especially when he awoke from a nightmare. It gave him comfort. Even as he now held another woman in his arms and the word love did not seem quite as alien to him anymore, Solona's words would always come back to him. He could only hope that he was right.

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic on this site! It comes in various parts in a series, and it's about the Warden told from the viewpoints of the people around her. They can all be read as stand alones, but should be read as a whole to get the entire story. Thank you so much for reading, I would greatly appreciate it you left a kudos if you enjoyed the story. Have a lovely day ahead! :)


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